I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __ND RF Seat lowering kits
Just wondered if anyone here had any experience of buying and fitting a seat lowering kit for an ND2 RF, and if so if they could advise on a few things?
How much does it lower the seat by approx?
Which is the best kit and where to buy?
Is it easy to fit DIY or is it a specialist/garage job?
Does it count as a modification for insurance purposes? Does it affect or compromise seat security/safety in any way?
Having done it, are you happy with the outcome etc?
Did it require any special tools?
Does everything fit straight out the box or did you have to mess around altering or changing things or does everything ‘line up’ etc?
I fitted the Paco Motorsport seat lowering brackets which lower the seats by 1½". Reasonably easy to fit but you lose the instant adjustment. No problem for me as I’m the only driver. Insurance not a problem.
Jass performance also produce seat lowering brackets that lower the seat by 2" but again you lose the instant adjustment.
Blackbird Aurora also produce seat lowering brackets that retain the instant adjustment, but fitting is a little more involved.
I’ve got the Blackbird Fabworx / Aurora Auto Design ones fitted to mine. They retain the full seat movement but are considerably more expensive than the Paco Motorsport kit. The Aurora kit lowers by around 1.1", it is also worth noting the Aurora kit is not reversible as it involves making cuts to the original seat base, it is therefore a fairly involved job to fit (unlike the Paco kit). I went for the Aurora over the Paco as retaining full functionality of the seat was important to me (even though I’m the only driver).
I’m happy with the outcome, it made a huge difference for me being 6ft 2 with a long torso, I feel like I’m sitting in the car more as opposed to sitting on it. My head is more behind the windscreen and I also find the seat position better with the centre console effectively being higher for gear changes too.
It is a modification and as such should be declared to insurance, mine weren’t bothered by it but it will depend on who you are insured with. I was the RHD guinea pig for Aurora being the 1st RHD customer they had for the kit, so it was a bit more involved for me as I had to remove the seats before ordering and relay measurements back and forth to them before ordering the kit, it is a quality kit though and installs without issue once you’ve made the necessary cuts to the original seat base.
I’m located in St Asaph near Cheshire if you wanted to try before you buy (my car is now SORN though, but it would give you an idea). I know my head permanently touches the roof in a standard RF, so I know the kit for me would be a game changer if I chose to have an RF rather than my ST, as buying the RF simply wasn’t an option for me (fortunately I wanted the ST anyway).
Hi Gareth, I have the Aurora kit but haven’t bitten the bullet yet knowing that it isn’t reversible.
Did you do the work yourself or did you get it done by a workshop, if so, who?
I did the work myself, it was somewhat daunting but once done it was worth it. Its just a case of taking your time and working through it, the instructions from Aurora are pretty good to be fair, I’ve seen much worse, but you will need an angle grinder.
Hi.
Yes i would recommend notifying your insurer of this type of change.
If you do have any issues then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.
I have now two versions on slider rails - the one is pretty bolt on with a drop of nearly 50mm and the other ones goes 10mm lower. I had them available at the National Rally and some of you might have tested them already.
The fixed version is also available with the 56mm drop.
Hi all, new to the forum as of today so apologies if I’m posting in the wrong place! In any case this page seemed pretty relevant.
Anyway I’ve been fairly obsessed with picking up an mx-5 for some time now and am leaning towards an MK4 / ND but as I’m quite tall would really value the opportunity to try out an ND with a seat lowering kit fitted if any of you would be happy to help? I’m based in east Kent but happy to travel.
from test drives I know the stock NC fits my frame a little better, but still a good part of me leaning toward an ND and otherwise considering some kind of leg shortening surgery…
How tall is tall? I’m 6’4” and it should be doable. I have JAS Performance rails (48mm) and I fit.
With ND It’s good to also understand if you have long legs or long torso. With long torso you need to tilt seat back so your head won’t bump to the roof and that takes away leg room.
Also RF is considerably tighter for long torso. Also double lining in soft-top takes out quite a lot of head room. Fabric seats give you maybe 0.5-1cm more than leather seats (fabric gives bit more than letter I presume). Recaros are quite tight for a big man and they were too narrow in general to be comfortable.
So fitting a tall guy to ND has all these pesky little things you need to note.
I’m 6’5” with long legs, and have an RF with Recaro seats, I fit OK, my knees are close to the steering wheel so a lowering bracket might help, but it’s not essential for me.
I know from sitting in a stock leather seated RF a while back that my head was just about touching the roof with the seat dead vertical so can definitely see that leaning it back a little would help.
In terms of body proportions, I’m 6’3” with a 34” leg - googling seems to suggest I’m close to average / even, though if anything maybe a slightly longer body, but don’t quite know what that means for fitting & seat set up(?)
Definitely sounds like there’s a fair bit of nuance and know how to it! As an aside, have you guys found, or know if the telescoping steering wheel of later sub-generations makes much difference?
Lastly, @sarte are you anywhere near Kent, and would you be happy to let me sit in your lowered seated vehicle? Crate of beers in exchange?
I don’t have the telescoping steering wheel, I think it would make things better but it’s more effort than I personally want to go to to retrofit. I don’t have my seat all the way back (I think it’s two notches forward) I recline it to touch the bulkhead three notches out then slide it back into position so it’s tight on the bulkhead and doesn’t move about, my head is close to the roof but not really touching.
Unfortunately I’m no where near Kent, about 2000km north-east… I live in Finland. But if you happen to visit here I’ll be more than happy to help
But from what I gather from your measurements, I’d say that you can make every version of the MX-5 usable. And of course on sunny days this is no issue at all. My inseam is around 33” so my torso is roughly 2” taller.
Of course it’s a small car. Actually really small car, so there is not that much space to begin with. On the other hand I rented a Ford Fiesta few years back and oh man… That was quite claustrophobic experience compared to ND.
Also to note about the Recaros. My waist is 38”, so I have a good amount of meat on my bones. For me Recaros were too narrow. I didn’t notice it right away, but after half an hour test drive I could feel lateral supports digging in.
And about the telescopic steering wheel… I actually forgot I had one. Just did a quick tryout and my initial thought is that it helps more, if you have long legs. I’m having a longer trip tomorrow and I’ll do some testing. Right now its all extended, but now that I’m more accustomed to the car, I feel like the steering wheel could be more far out to have more natural driving position. But I’ll get back to you on that.
@Glug69 yes, I’d seen somewhere it’s a pretty major piece of work to retrofit the steering column! Have just been weighing up benefits of paying the extra for the NDII over NDI so useful to know it’s a nice to have and not essential for you.
Thanks also for your comments on seat position & height etc - I did a similar thing when I test drove an NC and it improved the head room for me then, got to be worth a try when I get another test drive in an ND - ta!
@sarte Owning an mx-5 in Finland has got to be incredible! There must be some truly epic road trips there (at the right times of year), doubtless the heated seats are well used…
Thank you for your help too and your comment about making any gen workable. Sounds like I can take a chance with some confidence that there’ll be a clever solution somehow!
Please do let me know your thoughts on the adjustable steering wheel when you get a good chance too
Always wanted to visit north wales.. am slightly forward planning as I’m abroad in New Zealand right now, but if it’s ultimately that or Finland then I might be dropping you a message in a couple months time!
